This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the presently described embodiments. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present embodiments. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
In order to meet consumer and industrial demand for natural resources, companies often invest significant amounts of time and money in finding and extracting oil, natural gas, and other subterranean resources from the earth. Particularly, once a desired subterranean resource such as oil or natural gas is discovered, drilling and production systems are often employed to access and extract the resource. These systems may be located onshore or offshore depending on the location of a desired resource. Further, such systems generally include a wellhead assembly mounted on a well through which the resource is accessed or extracted. These wellhead assemblies can include a wide variety of components, such as various casings, valves, pumps, fluid conduits, and the like, that control drilling or extraction operations.
In some instances, resources accessed via wells are able to flow to the surface by themselves. This is typically the case with gas wells, as the accessed gas has a lower density than air. This can also be the case for oil wells if the pressure of the oil is sufficiently high to overcome gravity. But often the oil does not have sufficient pressure to flow to the surface and it must be lifted to the surface through one of various methods known as artificial lift. Artificial lift can also be used to raise other resources through wells to the surface, or for removing water or other liquids from gas wells. Some forms of artificial lift use a pump that is placed downhole in the well, such as a progressing cavity pump having a stator that cooperates with a helical rotor to draw fluid up the well.